Winter Wonderland
by highland-daughter
Summary: Two hundred years. It was a long time to mourn the loss of a dear friend. For Li it was the blink of an eye. But on a snowy day he's about to learn that sometimes life reveals unexpected surprises. !COMPLETE!


_**Disclaimer:** All rights belong to Brandy Feltmate. I own nothing and no profit is being made._

_**Rating:** K+_

_**Warning:** Contains minor character death and warm fluffy, emotional moments._

_**Author:** So I wrote this for a contest the author is running over on deviantART. Enjoy._

_**oOoOoOo**_

_London, England_

_1786_

It was snowing.

Again.

Clutching the little green book to his chest, Penn kept walking, wondering if his mother might have made stew for supper. A smile graced his pale face at the thought of a warm meal. He wondered if his new friend liked stew. He hadn't thought to ask the dark haired boy what sort of food he liked. Or if he even had to eat. He'd never encountered someone like Li.

His smile grew at the thought of Li.

"Li?"

Penn wasn't surprised at all when Li appeared beside him, as though they had been walking together all along.

"Yes, Master Penfield?"

Penn shook his head. "I don't think you have to call me master all the time, Li."

Li looked at him like a curious bird and shook his head as though disregarding a thought. "You possess the Granting Book," he said as they rounded a corner. "Therefore you are my master."

Again Penn shook his head, but he didn't bother arguing with Li. Honestly he'd much rather be Li's friend not his master. He didn't like the idea that he owned Li. Drawing a deep breath, Penn looked at Li, remembering an earlier thought. "Li, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Master Penfield."

Slight eye roll at the use of title and given name but Penn smiled none the less.

"Do you like stew?"

Li looked at him for a moment before a slight grin graced his face, his eyes sparkling in the dim light of evening. "I'm rather found of beef stew, Master Penfield. Do you think we might have some soon?"

"Mother usually makes stew when it snows. She says it warms both the body and the soul."

"She sounds very wise."

Penn shrugged. "She's Mother, of course she's wise."

The two laughed as they continued walk. The snow was beginning to fall heavier by the time they reached the street where Penn lived. Li, distracted by thoughts of beef stew and the musical sound of Penn's laugh, didn't notice the rapidly approaching carriage when Penn stepped off the curb, intending to cross the street.

Everything happened so swiftly that Li had no time to react.

The carriage, pulled by horses going much too fast for the snowy street, struck Penn, knocking him down, causing on of the back wheels to roll over him. The frightened and pained scream that tore through the air made Li's heart stop. Rushing to his friend even as the carriage driver managed to stop his horses, he knew there was little to be done. Even now he could see the blood trickling from the corners of Penn's mouth. The light was fading from the boy's eyes.

"Master Penfield!" Li dropped to his knees next to Penn, carefully pulling the slightly smaller boy into his arms.

Penn looked up at him, pain etched in his face, but a small smile graced his lips. "Li…"

"Shh," Li cooed, smoothing Penn's hair back even as a crowd began to gather around them. He felt one of Penn's arms move but made it no mind, trying to focus on staying calm so he could help keep Penn calm. He didn't want his friend to be afraid. "Don't talk, Master Penfield. Help…Help's coming."

Penn gave a nod but his eyes were growing dimmer as the seconds passed. "Li…" Penn coughed a bit, blood dripping from his lips. "The…The book…Li…made my…my…wish…"

"What?" Li didn't understand and before he could ask what Penn meant he felt the life slip from the boy.

Tears filled his eyes just as the crowd parted and Penn's mother came racing to them. Her cries of grief ringing through the air as she took Penn from Li's arms, cradling her son and sobbing. Li stared at her, momentarily thinking of his own mother before he noticed the Granting Book lay near him. Open.

Picking up the book he realized that when he'd felt Penn's arm move the boy had been writing a wish in the book. The wish nearly broke what remained of Li's heart.

_I wish to one day be friends with Li again._

Tears rolled down Li's face as he used his magic, watching a little green check mark appear next to the wish. He felt the familiar tingle of being called back into the book because he no longer had a master and managed to cast a final glance towards Penn before darkness overtook him.

_oOoOoOo_

_Toronto, Canada_

_2009_

It was snowing lightly as Li walked through the park, trying to pass time before he could meet Kristie.

Snow crunched beneath his boots and he could see each puff of breath. The park, usually full and lively, was empty and seemed almost like a world void of life. Oh there was the occasional person about, but not like there had been in the summer and fall. Only a month ago he'd watched a group of children playing by the now deserted swing set. It saddened him a bit.

As he reached the fountain in the center of the park he heard the sound of wheels. Not a car but something else. He turned his head, breath caught in his throat, and watched as a horse drawn carriage slowly passed. A couple were nestled in the back, both looked happy, and the driver was whistling a Christmas tune that he'd heard Kristie singing earlier that morning.

It shouldn't have affected him the way it did.

His mind went blank for a moment before it was suddenly filled with images of a thinly built boy with curling blonde hair and big blue eyes. Tears prickled his eyes and he blinked them away, watching as the buggy disappeared around a bend in the trail. It was hard to believe that now, well over two centuries later, he was still pained by Penn's death.

Turning back to the fountain, he tried not to think about the boy. When he had told Kristie that not all his past masters had been bad it had been true. Penn had been one of the best. Sweet and kind. Wishing for things that helped others. Thinking of him now, Li was reminded in many ways of Kristie. Both shared the same goodness. An inner light that shone no matter how dark the world became.

More tears filled his eyes, a few slipping free to glide down his cheek.

Reaching up to wipe them away he was a bit startled when a hand touched his arm and a voice filled his ear. A voice he hadn't heard in a very, very long time.

"Li?"

Looking up, Li found himself staring at Penn. An older, taller version of Penn. But Penn just the same. "Penfield…" Shock and disbelief filled him. How was this possible? Penn had died.

Penn smiled a bit, his azure eyes lighting up just as Li remembered. "I knew it was you," Penn said softly, the hand on Li's arm giving a slight squeeze, as though making certain he was actually there. "I knew."

"How…" Li was still confused and Penn's smile changed, becoming softer somehow.

"My last wish, remember?"

Li remembered.

"But your memories…how did you keep them?"

Penn shrugged. "You once told me that the wish doesn't always follow the letter. That the magic can have a mind of its own."

Li nodded, remembering how he told each master that. Many didn't care to heed his warning. He smiled then, the reality of the situation having finally set in enough for joy to fill him. "It's wonderful to see you again, Penfield."

Penn laughed and the sound was rich and joyful. "How did I know you would call me that? Even two hundred years later."

Li laughed as well. "I suppose it may not be your name now."

Penn shook his head. "Oddly enough it is," he chuckled and his arm slung around Li's shoulder. "Do you suppose you could finally call me Penn, though? Considering I'm not your master?"

Li grinned. "I've no master now, Penn."

Penn blinked owlishly at him. Though whether it was from surprise at the use of his nickname or the news that no master commanded Li was debateable.

"No master?"

"Yes." Li heard approaching footsteps and turned his head to find Kristie walking up the path towards them. His gaze returned to Penn. "My last master, Miss Kristie, managed to free me from the book."

Penn was smiling brightly. "I'm so happy for you, Li," he said as he pulled Li into a hug. "You seem so much happier now. I'm glad she gave you freedom."

Li returned Penn's embrace, feeling a bit odd, being shorter than Penn. When they stepped apart, Kristie had stopped a short distance away, clearly curious but willing to give Li space for this. Even if she didn't know what ithis/i was. Looking up at Penn, Li grinned.

"Would you like to meet her? Miss Kristie I mean."

Penn glanced over the top of Li's head and then back down at Li. "That's her, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"I'd love to meet her, Li."

Li was all but bouncing as he led Penn over to Kristie. He may not have predicted this outcome from that wish all those long years ago. But he was ecstatic that it had turned out this way. He had gained his freedom and reclaimed an old friendship. Looking momentarily around him, at the park he had earlier thought to resemble a white void, he now saw a winter wonderland where dreams really could come true.

_**oOoOoOo**_

_**Author:** There it is guys. *grabs tissue* Took nearly two weeks to write because I kept changing the beginning of the story but I'm rather happy with how it turned out. I hope you liked it._


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